20 comments:

Love your work. I have read that book and thought it so interesting. Another great color book is " A Perfect Red" which I know as an artist you would love. Victoria also wrote"jewels A Secret History" one of my all time favourites!Jenni

Jane, dot paintings are a part of the Australian Aboriginal people's Cultural and religious heritage. Here in Australia we are sensitive to the use of the style as decorative elements. Your work is very nice, however it would be looked at askance here if done by a person of non- aboriginal background.

As a white Aussie I have to second Origa-me's comment; it is very disrespectful to use these symbols and style of art unless you are an artist of Aboriginal descent and entitled to use them. Lovely as your work is, it would ruffle more than a few feathers. Putin's insistence that the didgeridoo was played by Nicole Kidman caused a great furore and the fact that Putin insisted on it was irrelevant.

origa-me and spinning down under: I apologize if I’ve offended anyone by the use of dots in my art work. I wonder if I hadn’t given it the title “Aboriginal Dreams”, if you’d have felt the same way? As I wrote, I was inspired by reading about the art form, and created the piece with respect. I believe there is nothing wrong with using similar techniques of art from other times and cultures. It helps bring an appreciation of that style and I am interpreting it in my own way as you see in the whole piece later this month. Creativity and art is all borrowed and changed from what came before us. Nothing is completely new and all artists are influenced by others. It is human nature. And I believe many artists have used dots and spirals and concentric circles in their symbolism. I will change the title, and I do appreciate that you’ve shared your opinions with me.

I'm rather surprised by the comments and it would be good to hear from someone who is of an Aboriginal people to get that perspective, I think. Perhaps it was just a matter of the naming of the piece as you mention Jane? It seemed clear no offense was intended and if anything the use of dots seemed, to me at least, a way of honoring a symbol that has so much meaning to a native culture. If it is considered such an offense, though, it makes me think I would end up staring at a blank canvas forever--afraid to make a mark lest it belong to someone else and not be mine to use? Interesting to consider and I wonder what other mark makers think.

The position of aboriginal style art is entrenched in law over here. As non-Aboriginals we know very little about what they believe because they keep their beliefs to themselves, but all their art has significance to them and tells the story of their heritage and tribal ways. A privileged few can read the stories because over many years they have been accepted into the aboriginal "family". Or the matters dealt with in a painting are not "secret business" and can be displayed and told.This might appear a rather hard-nosed point of view, but you would find that our comments are very mild compared to those of a tribal aboriginal.The Vladimir Putin episode nearly caused an international incident because women are not allowed to play a didgeridoo, and Putin insisted it was Nicole Kidman who played it, not Hugh Jackman who was also there, even though they both explained how insulting it is. The reaction here was one of horror and outrage that she had dared do something that only a man could do.I realise that many do not understand how much offence something like this can give, but we are very conscious of respecting Aboriginal rights and traditions over here and its a very touchy issue. The dots would still have been interpreted as Aboriginal even if the title had been different. I too would like an aboriginal response, but in the absence of that all I can do is try to explain as best I can. The Aboriginals identify so closely to the land in a way that few Westeners can hope to understand, and these dot paintings, along with the glyphs of the wild life found there, and the symbols of the Dreamtime have a more than deeply religious sense for them. Its their history and the core of their being and beliefs. I don't understand fully how they feel, but I do respect their right to feel that way, and try to defend and explain it as best I can, however badly.There are many cultures that feel this way and here in the West we tend to ride roughshod over their feelings without thinking of the consequences. It does not interfere with mark making - it merely suggests we think about what we are doing before doing it, and consider the feelings of others if we are going to publish it on the internet.